The fifth stage classification of NASCAR Brasil, held this Friday (31), was marked by fierce battles on the outer circuit of the Autódromo Internacional de Mato Grosso, in Cuiabá (MT). After the six fastest drivers were defined in the qualifying session, the pole-position decision fell to the Sprint Race, in which Alfredinho Ibiapina confirmed strong pace to secure the first place on the grid, ahead of Cacá Bueno and Gabriel Casagrande. Check it out:
For this stage, the drivers went out in pairs to log their times. Victor Andrade and Gui Backes were the first, with Backes leading at 1:00.660. Andrade recorded 1:00.993.
Bruna Tomaselli and Denis Navarro went out next, but the red flag was triggered due to lighting issues on the track. They managed to return a few minutes later and the driver recorded 1:00.638. Navarro then took the lead with 0:59.867.
Afterwards came Gustavo Bandeira and Witold Ramasauskas. The two posted times above 1 minute, but managed to place themselves second and third, respectively.
The next duo to accelerate was Tatiana Calderón and Juninho Berlanda. The driver spun on the track but still managed to complete another lap. Calderón finished sixth, while Berlanda rose to second with 1:00.049, recovering from the incident.
Ricardo Zonta and Thiago Camilo were next. Camilo managed the third-best time, while Zonta finished ninth.
Jorge Martelli and Gabriel Casagrande followed. Casagrande posted 0:59.532 on the Cuiabá outer circuit and took the session lead. Martelli could not set a time.
Alex Seid and Tito Giaffone were the next duo. Giaffone posted 1:00.643, finishing eighth. Seid did 1:00.097 and moved up to fourth.
Then came Dudes Castroneves and Arthur Gama. The better performance belonged to Gama, who reached second place with 0:59.536. Castroneves finished fifteenth.
Cacá Bueno and Alfredinho Ibiapina went out next. Ibiapina moved to third on his first attempt, while Bueno posted 0:59.274. With another lap, Ibiapina managed to surpass the competitor by 0.136 seconds, taking the lead.
Nicolas Costa and Murilo Rocha gave their attempts. Costa finished fifth, while Rocha closed his participation in sixth place.
Vitor Genz and Firás Fahs followed and ended up mid-grid. Then Galid Osman and Felipe Tozzo hit the track. Osman finished 12th, while Tozzo spun on track and fell back.
The first part of qualifying ended with one last attempt by Martelli, which left him in 16th.
Sprint Race
Ibiapina, Bueno, Casagrande, Gama, Costa and Rocha went to contest the five-lap race to decide the stage’s pole position.
Green flag and Ibiapina managed to keep the lead, while Rocha moved up to fifth from Costa, but was soon overtaken.
The pack stayed close, but there were no overtakes in the next two laps. However, the scenario changed on lap four, with Ibiapina having to defend against Bueno and Casagrande attempting the attack. Bueno even went off the track, but did not lose the runner-up position.
Casagrande tried, but Bueno crossed the finish line in second, right behind Ibiapina. Gama, Costa and Rocha completed the top-6.
The NASCAR Brasil holds its 1h10 race on Saturday, at 18:00 Brasilia time.
